


I ain't letting go

by aliciajazmin



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Drinking & Talking, F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Not Canon Compliant
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:47:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26692447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aliciajazmin/pseuds/aliciajazmin
Summary: There's a hidden nightclub that aliens and humans flock to. Gwen and Martha go to see if they if can find the answers to a case about a missing spaceship. The thing is, it's "couples only" night, and Gwen has a crush she's struggling to hide.
Relationships: Gwen Cooper/Martha Jones
Kudos: 8
Collections: Torchwood Fan Fests: Bingo Fest 2020





	I ain't letting go

**Author's Note:**

> This is for the Torchwood Bingo Fest! Prompts listed in notes at the end of the fic.

Gwen Cooper stood on the pavement outside the nightclub. She pulled her tiny dress coat tighter around herself. It was futile, this wasn’t made for warmth.

The breeze crept across exposed skin. Shivering, she regretted the strapless, black dress she'd picked. Aside from the cold, it was maybe a bit much for crashing a party that Torchwood was definitely not welcome in. The sound of music and overlapping noise of conversation poured into the street.

A few men eyed her as they walked into the establishment. She glared down every single one. One guy let out a wolf whistle and she sent him a stare so piercing, he immediately turned away and ran into the club, not looking back. She grinned to herself. If only that worked on some of the aliens she’d encountered.

Pulling out her mobile, she checked for any messages from Martha.

“Hey, Gwen.”

She looked up and saw her there.

“Hi…” Gwen said, trailing off as she took in Martha’s appearance: A forest green knee-length dress and a black leather jacket. Her black hair was down, sitting on her shoulders. “I was just about to call you.”

“Sorry, am I late?” Martha said, seemingly sympathetic.

“I-” Gwen looked at the time. 8:27. Oh, she was early. “You’re not, don’t worry about it.”

Martha gave her a small smile. “Good.” 

“Gorgeous dress,” Gwen said.

“Thanks,” Martha said, turning her gaze away. “So’s yours. That dress really suits you.”

Gwen refused to focus on the way Martha’s dress hugged her waist, turning her own gaze sharply away. She bit her lip. “Ready to go inside?”

“Sure,” Martha said.

The two walked inside and were greeted by a crowded nightclub and the same dance music blaring overhead. There was a stage where a band was setting up their instruments. The two walked towards the back. A tall man stood in front of the door they needed to enter.

This would give them access to a party room that was really just a secret nightclub for aliens and humans who dealt with them.

Civilians around them stared. Gwen could see one man lean over towards his mate and point at the door. They were excited as they whispered, while staring at it. As far as regular citizens knew, this was just the VIP room and they had no reason to believe otherwise.

Torchwood had mostly left this place alone. Mostly being a keyword there. Torchwood personnel weren't allowed inside but the owners didn’t always know what the Torchwood team looked like, so they had snuck in over the years to make sure there was nothing they needed to involve themselves in.

Tonight though, Gwen and Martha were supposed to look for a specific person with information Torchwood needed. And this was their best shot.

"You together?" said the bouncer with an impassive expression.

Gwen and Martha were silent. What were they supposed to say? Gwen and Martha looked at each other.

"Tonight's couples night so if you're not a couple…"

Gwen grabbed Martha's hand and said, "We are… a couple that is." She felt her heart in her throat when Martha squeezed her hand. That warmth and reassurance were almost all she could focus on.

The bouncer looked between them suspiciously.

"Is something wrong?" Martha said.

“No… Password?”

"Celestial,” Martha said.

He let them inside and Gwen finally exhaled once they entered the party space. It was its own nightclub but less crowded. Once the door closed behind them, they could no longer hear the main area. Soundproofing? Alien tech? Maybe Jack would know. There was a stage with a performer who was wearing a dress that looked like it was taken from the 1920s. The performer themselves seemed to have also walked out of the 1920s, with an era-appropriate haircut and makeup. They looked human but maybe they were a shapeshifter.

Despite the singers’ appearance, they were singing a pop song. Instrumentals played from giant speakers behind them.

Several humans and aliens stood on the dance floor, dancing to the beat. Gwen realized she was still holding Martha’s hand.

“Sorry,” she said, letting go of Martha’s hand. She gave her an apologetic smile and tried not to look too embarrassed.

“Don’t worry about it. That was quick thinking back there,” Martha said. “I wasn’t sure what to say.”

“Next time, you do the lying,” Gwen said.

Martha quietly laughed. “Deal.”

Gwen offered to go get them drinks while Martha found them some seats.

Approaching the bar, she glanced at the stage a few more times. The singer’s performance was almost entrancing. It made her want to dance with all those people.

“Like the singer?” said the guy behind the counter.

“Hm?” Gwen said. She collected herself. “Er- yeah.”

“They’re popular with the locals here. Named Ruby Sharp, though that’s just their stage name,” he said. “The only problem is, people collapse when Ruby’s done singing because no one stops dancing for breaks. It’s like they’re hypnotizing everyone. Maybe they are.”

“Hypnotizing people? Is that allowed here?” Gwen said.

“It’s not breaking the rules exactly. As long as no one is seriously hurt.”

“You just said these people collapse?”

“Some of these people dance until they collapse no matter who’s singing. They all come from places or lives that are really tough, and they let loose as much as they can. Just don’t always watch what they can handle.”

Gwen decided to drop it but it bothered her nonetheless. She ordered a drink for herself and one she thought Martha would like and found her sitting on one of the sofas, waiting for her.

“What were you talking to him about?” Martha asked.

“The singer… Ruby I think their name is. They have such a strong effect on everyone here,” Gwen said. She explained what the guy said and handed Martha her drink. Upon sitting down, she shifted away a bit when she realized she was sitting less than centimetre away from Martha. Too close. If Martha noticed, she didn’t comment on it or tease her, which Gwen was grateful for.

“So…” Martha said.

Gwen took a sip of her drink.

“We’re a couple now,” Martha said, not noticing that Gwen had nearly spat out her drink in response. “Should we come up with a backstory in case someone asks?”

“Sure,” Gwen said. She swallowed. “How about… we’ve been together for… 6 months now.”

“Okay, how did we meet?” Martha said.

Gwen pondered this. “We could just say we met at work.”

“And what do we do? For work, I mean,” Martha said.

“What about famous actresses?” Gwen said, grinning.

“Minus the famous part of course.” Martha smiled back at her. “Okay, so we met through an acting gig. Maybe an audition? How did we get together?”

Gwen frowned. “We don’t need THAT much backstory do we?”

“Well…” Martha said. “No, but it’s good to be prepared. Right?”

“Yeah…”

They drank in silence for a few moments. Martha put her glass down and looked up, her eyes widened in alarm for a moment. Gwen was just about to ask what was wrong when Martha suddenly threw an arm around Gwen’s shoulders, pulling her closer. Gwen turned towards her in surprise and found herself almost nose-to-nose with her.

“The man from outside the door is nearby, go along with it.” Martha’s free hand grabbed hers, lacing their fingers together.

“All right.” Gwen felt awkward under the intensity of the close eye contact. Luckily, Martha broke it to likely check if the man was still nearby.

After what felt like forever, Martha let go of her.

Gwen laughed nervously. “Was that really necessary?” she said.

“I’m sorry. I just- we are supposed to look like a couple and we might look suspicious, just sitting here planning for our mission like a pair of colleagues,” Martha said. “And he was looking in our direction. I… sort of panicked.”

“It’s okay. You’re right. I was just caught off guard. Plus, I did say you would have to do the lying next time, didn’t I?”

“You did. Now it’s your turn again.”

The two watched the customers around them, hoping to see the person with the right description: Blue hat, and a brown leather jacket. To make themselves seem less creepy, Gwen tried to ignore the butterflies in her stomach and sat closer to Martha, letting her leg brush against hers. She tried to focus on Ruby’s singing to distract herself.

Eventually, Gwen got up to go get them some more drinks. Martha asked her to get the same one for her again. Turns out that Gwen had guessed right the first time. She wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

On her way, she accidentally bumped into someone.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Gwen said. Then she stopped when she saw who it was. Gwen was surprised that she hadn’t noticed that she no longer heard Ruby’s voice. Martha really just had that effect on her? God, she was useless.

“It’s quite all right, don’t worry,” Ruby said.

Gwen noticed the people around them glancing their way. She worried for the moment that her cover was blown. Her heart was racing but she quickly realized none of them were looking at her. They were all so transfixed on Ruby.

“Are you sure?” Gwen said.

“Mm, yes. No damage was done. Are you buying drinks?”

“Yes, I’m here with my… girlfriend,” Gwen said. She plastered on a smile.

“I’ll buy them for you,” they said.

“Oh, you don’t need to-”

Ruby grabbed Gwen’s hand and led her to the counter. Their grip was firm and cold. “Hob,” they said to the guy. “Get her whatever two drinks she wants. Charge it to Gordan’s account, will you?”

“No problem,” he said.

“Thank you, really.” The coolness disappeared as Ruby let go of Gwen.

Ruby waved their hand dismissively. “Don’t mention it. Is there anything else?”

Gwen paused. This person seemed nice enough but Gwen was more and more convinced that this person was hypnotizing the people around them. Still, Gwen didn’t want to pass up this opportunity.

“Could you help me find someone? Martha and I are wondering about this person who wears a brown leather jacket and a blue hat. He’s a friend of ours, we heard he comes here often,” Gwen said. “We just thought, while we’re here… we might as well say hello." She held her breath.

“A friend of yours…?” they said.

“Yeah,” Gwen said.

“Yes, I think I know who you’re talking about,” they said. “He’s not here but he’s in the building. Would like to see him in a bit?”

“Yeah, if we could,” Gwen said.

“All right, go get your girlfriend and meet me over there.” Ruby pointed to a doorway that led into a beige-coloured hallway.

Gwen let out a sigh as she got her drinks and went back over to Martha.

“Thank you,” Martha said. "I saw you bump into Ruby. Are you okay?"

“Yeah I’m fine.” Gwen sat down next to her and gave her a sly smile.

Martha said. “You found something, didn't you?”

“Ruby’s going to take us to see him. Apparently, he’s in the building, he’s just not here.”

"We're finally going to get to the bottom of this." Martha smiled and took a sip of her drink. “This is so good. How did you know I would like this drink anyway?”

“Well, I've seen you order drinks like that before. Why? You one of their regulars now?” Gwen teased.

“I guess so. Can't believe you noticed that and remembered it.”

Gwen blushed and took a sip of her own drink. "You know what? You can add me to that list of regulars too." 

They finished their drinks and made their way over to the hallway. It wasn’t long before Ruby approached the pair.

“Follow me,” they said.

Martha and Gwen followed Ruby down the hallway towards an old-looking wooden door. They pushed it open and the two followed them down a concrete staircase. Sitting at a desk surrounded by grey walls and floors was their man. The blue cap sat on a head of curly, red hair. He saw the two and his three, pale-green eyes widened a bit.

“Sir, they were asking about you,” Ruby said to him. “They said they’re friends of yours?”

“Oh, yes. You’re Torchwood, right?” he said.

Gwen and Martha looked at each other. Martha frowned and Gwen sighed.

Martha turned back towards him. “How did you know?”

“Eh, I figured I would see you eventually. Name’s Gordan. This about the missing spaceship?”

“Yeah…” Martha said.

Gwen looked at Ruby. “Sorry, we lied.”

They looked unaffected, perched on the edge of Gordan’s desk. “I knew you were lying. It’s not surprising. Gordon says Torchwood comes here all the time.”

Gwen rolled her eyes. Of fucking course they did. Jack went on and on about how this was an undercover mission and that there were rules against Torchwood personnel entering the place but Gwen was thinking these people just _let_ Torchwood operatives in at this point.

“What do you know about it?” Martha said.

“You should be asking them about it,” he said, looking at Ruby.

“Why’s that?” Martha said.

“I knew the people onboard. They’re friends of mine. They're like me,” Ruby said.

“You mean aliens?” Gwen said.

“No,” they said. “I’m like you. I’m human, or… mostly human. We’re what you would all call vampires.”

“Vampires?” Gwen said.

She looked at Martha, who let out a small laugh and said incredulously, “You’re kidding me, right?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter will be up at some point! This was going to be just a oneshot but then it got longer and longer.

**Author's Note:**

> Leave a kudos/comment if you liked this! I'm @toshsato on tumblr! This is for the prompts: Werewolves and/or vampires, music, dancing, and benign alien visitors.


End file.
